West Midlands - Paranormal
Database Records

Burning

Location: Baginton - Manor House (no longer standing)Type: Environmental ManifestationDate / Time: 1900s onwards?Further Comments: This manor house was consumed by fire around the start of the twentieth century. Ten years after the fire, a witness reported seeing a house burning where the manor had stood, and again another witness reported the same occurrence a few years later.

Grey Lady

Location: Baginton - Old Mill House hotelType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: This phantom is said to be more likely heard than seen; her voice has been heard in the restaurant.

Sandwell Vallygator

Location: Birmingham - Sandwell ValleyType: CryptozoologyDate / Time: 1999Further Comments: An American snapper which had either escaped or been set free was first spotted in a lake here, though it was two years before the creature was actually caught.

Gypsy Curse

Location: Birmingham - St Andrews, Birmingham City Football ClubType: CurseDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: A local legend says that a community of gypsies were evicted from the land many years ago, enabling the construction of the stadium. St Andrews is one of several football grounds around the country that claims this gypsy curse is responsible for any bad luck they encounter.

Screaming

Location: Birmingham - Brightstone RoadType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 03:00h (reoccurring)Further Comments: Screams can be heard coming from an unknown point along this road in the early hours of the morning. Some people have also claimed to have seen a pale young boy in tears.

Pale Woman

Location: Birmingham - Witton Lakes Park, ErdingtonType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1960s / 1970sFurther Comments: This female phantom who lurks at the edge of the lakes is said to dress in modern clothing, though her skin is frightening pale in colour.

Samuel Greatrex

Location: Birmingham - Private house along Garrison Lane, Small HeathType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1963Further Comments: Identified by a medium as Samuel Greatrex, this ghost created loud knocks, rattled chains, and generated footsteps day and night. It was later discovered that Greatrex had been arrested for stabbing someone and had died during his time in prison. When occupier Mrs Keogh moved away, Greatrex followed her

Samuel Greatrex Returns

Location: Birmingham - Private house along Upper Thomas Street, AstonType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1964 onwardsFurther Comments: Mrs Keogh fled her previous residence to escape the phantom Samuel Greatrex, but the ghost accompanied her, as did the loud raps it created Through a medium, Greatrex apologised to Mrs Keogh and promised to quieten down.

Frilly Woman

Location: Birmingham - Victoria Road, AstonType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1970sFurther Comments: This shade dressed in green is reported to just 'appear' in the middle of the road or on the kerb before drifting across the street before vanishing again.

Workman

Location: Birmingham - Pebble Mill StudiosType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1970sFurther Comments: This man was killed during construction of the studios, and was seen and heard around the sets once they were up and running.

Engines

Location: Birmingham - Castle Vale housing estateType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1987Further Comments: The housing estate was partly built over the site of the World War Two Castle Bromwich Aerodrome, and during the 1970s there were several reports of ghostly airmen manifesting around the area. In 1987, one man was virtually deafened by the sound of an old aircraft engine that came out of a thick fog that surrounded his house. The following evening, the fog and the engine sound returned, but this time was also reported by a mother and her children who lived two miles away.

Hit and Vanish

Location: Birmingham - Witton Cemetery, Moor LaneType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1995Further Comments: A driver was convinced that he had run over a figure outside the cemetery (he felt and heard the 'bump' of the body on the car's bonnet), but the 'victim' vanished without trace. A police search of the area also failed to find any evidence of the accident.

Grey Figure

Location: Birmingham - Birmingham & Midland Eye Centre, City HospitalType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 1996Further Comments: During the building's construction, CCTV picked up the image of a strange grey figure - security was sent to the scene, but no one could be found. A ward sister was encountered along a top floor corridor, only visible from the knees upwards. Around the same time, a crew of workers found themselves locked in a room after investigating cries heard from within; once again nothing could be found. A priest was finally summoned to the area.

Young Girl

Location: Birmingham - Sheldon Hall public house, Gressel Lane, Tile CrossType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 2000sFurther Comments: Caught on film by a group of party goers, this shade is one of the two ghosts that haunt the property, the other taking the form of an old woman. In 1993, when the pub was known as 'Baldie's Mansion', a masked white apparition was spotted, accompanied by nearby trees and bushes violently shaking.

Bangs

Location: Birmingham - Key Hill Cemetery, Icknield Street, HockleyType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 2006 onwardsFurther Comments: Reported by Birmingham Investigators of the Unknown, activity in this location includes banging or clanking sounds, dark shadows, feelings of heaviness and sickness, and a lantern light moving across the rear of the cemetery.

Shadowy Figure

Location: Birmingham - Kings Norton ParkType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 2007Further Comments: The dark shape of a man has been reported crossing the park. A swing in the playground is also said to rock itself at night, even though there is no wind.

Face

Location: Birmingham - Nokes'z Hair, Church Road, NorthfieldType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 2009 - 2013Further Comments: Several incidents have been reported coming from this hairdressers, including the manifestation of a face in the darkness, appliances switching themselves on, objects being thrown, and a black mist forming at the rear of a room.

Misty

Location: Birmingham - Old Crown public house, DeritendType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 21 August 1999Further Comments: A couple staying here reported a strange white mist in their room. One witness felt compelled to move towards the window. Two ghosts are said to haunt the inn, though who or what form the second one takes is unknown.

Crawling Cordial

Location: Birmingham - The Old Crown public house, DigbethType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Early 2015Further Comments: This pub appeared in the national press after a video was released showing a bottle of blackcurrant cordial moving unaided across the bar. The ghost has also been blamed for pinching female staff's bottoms and forcing one member of staff to quit after he spotted a female entity walk through a door.

Wilfred Barwick

Location: Birmingham - Coleshill RoadType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: February 1975Further Comments: The ghost of Barwick, a local butcher murdered in 1780, is said to haunt the road where he was killed. He was last seen stepping out in front of a Securicor van, vanishing as the driver tried to talk to him.

Mrs Holt

Location: Birmingham - Aston HallType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Holt and servant boy unknown, green lady in Summer 1991Further Comments: A former Mrs Holt (or Halte) was suspected by her husband of having an affair - he locked her in the loft where she lived for several years before dying. Another version of the story says It was Mary Holt who was locked in the loft by her father, after trying to elope. Either way, the phantom grey or white lady haunts the upper floor. A ghostly servant boy is said to hang from a beam on the property (he committed suicide after being caught stealing), while finally a green woman, a former housekeeper named either Mrs Whitaker or Walker has been seen in various areas of the site. A member of staff spotted her in the nursery room, briefly mistaking her for a real person before realising the area was closed off and that the figure wore seventeenth century clothing.

Wine Smashing

Location: Birmingham - Court Oak public house, HarborneType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: October 31 (Reoccurring)Further Comments: Nicknamed Corky by visitors to the Court Oak, this phantom is said to smash bottles of cheap wine in the cellar. Corky is also said to manifest behind the counter, appearing in the form of a male in his sixties.

Giant's Stone

Location: Birmingham - Warstones LaneType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Still present?Further Comments: A giant who lived at Birmingham castle was killed when the Giant of Dudley threw a stone at him (launched from Dudley!). The rock also demolished the castle. The stone was erected as a memento, and the lane named after the War Stone used as a weapon. The rock is now on a plinth within the cemetery.

Leon Salberg

Location: Birmingham - Alexandra TheatreType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Twentieth centuryFurther Comments: Having managed the theatre for over twenty five years, Leon died within the building, and is thought to still walk here. The ghost of an unknown woman has also been spotted.

White Lady

Location: Birmingham - Warstones Lane CemeteryType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Twentieth centuryFurther Comments: Though seen wearing several different sets of clothing over the past fifty years, this young girl with blonde hair is thought to be Victorian, and has a habit of passing through parked cars.